Issue Brief - Freedom of Expression and New Media Culture in Sri Lanka

The role of new media in creating digital identities among users, mainly youth, in Sri Lanka is impressive. To further strengthen this trend, the campaigns in advancing citizen journalism in the digital sphere; encouraging online websites to accommodate more blogs and opinion pieces from citizens; enabling more digital spaces for citizens to network, share ideas and freely express themselves are encouraged. This will expand and foster a progressive and interactive environment for users to sharpen their digital identities in Sri Lanka. These are some of the key findings of the comprehensive national research on “Freedom of Expression and New Media Culture in Sri Lanka” conducted by HELVETAS Intercooperation gGmbH and Sri Lanka Development Journalist Forum (SDJF) through Institute for Participatory Interaction in Development (IPID) between July 2021-2021.

The overall objective of this research is to obtain a comprehensive understanding on the use of new media, and new media landscape (culture) for promoting freedom of expression in Sri Lanka. In assessing the landscape of new media in Sri Lanka, the research gained a deeper understanding as to the key actors and stakeholders, the main consumers of new media outlets, user-behavior patterns, and the overall ecology of the freedom of expression in new media in Sri Lanka.